The Londonderry sifter. (South Londonderry, Vt.) 1883-19??, 1887-05-12
INDIA RUBBER.
How the, Natives.of Costa Rica
Take 1t to Market.
A Thrifty Tree Able To Yield More Than
Fifty Pounds of Rubber f

The chief industry in eastern Costa
Rica is the collection OF caoutchouc
pronounced keechook, with the accent
strong on the first syllablc), as TIL, ma.
tive Indians call that substance to us
known as India rubber Not many
years ago, says the Providence Journal,
more than 100, 900 pounds ofjt wcrc
shipped every month from Graytown
alone, but at present the average export
per month is only about g. 900 pounds.
This considerable falling off is due to
the fact that no legal or other survcil-
lance is exercised over the gathering of
the gum, and with the customary i'm
providence of these people many OF
the valuable trees which yield it have
been ruined. The Yularoes or rubber
hunters are the most Ignorant and ire
sponsible creatures, whose first object
when out in hunt is to secure as much
caoutchouc as possible aad next to dam.
age the prospects of other Yularocs, re-
gardlcss of the future.
A thrifty tree at its first cutting,
ought to yield not less than fifty
pounds of rubber but the hunters of to-
day find few so profitable-unlcss they
penetrate far into the virgin forests and
are lucky enough to discover an entirely
new district. In those sections already
worked most of the trees have been
tapped several times and many of them
were spoiled at the outset by having
been cut too young-its greedy discov-
erer fearing that if tho prize welc left
to attain perfection another might fad
and secure it. Were the matter regulat-
ed by judicious laws, so that only ma
turc trees might be tapped, and those
not to an extent to cause death, the
production of caoutchouc- would be
greatlysincreascd. Recently the Costa
Rican government has offered extensive
grants of land to any who will devote
them to the culture of rubber trees but
so far few have availcd themselves of
the opportunity.
Many attempts have been made to i'm
port the juice of the tree in its natural
state, but so far none of these efforts
have succeeded. While in liquid form
it may be fashioned into any shape by
means of molds, bat no process has yet
been discovered to prevent its solidify-
ing. There is always a good deal Of
partially hardened caoutchouc adhering
to the bark of the tree, which is torn off
in long, stringy masses, called herucha.
Of course, this is not nearly so valuable
as the solid cakes, and is more especial :
ly the product of those trees that have
been cut several times, AMI therefore
cannot yield copious flow of sap; but
it is wrapped up in bundles and exported
for various purposes. Commercially
speaking, the caoutchouc of Paris is
considered best, and commands the
highest price in market, while that from
The west coast of Africa is least dcsira-
!. BILE, being only slightly elastic, and Qike
its collectors) extre mely offensive in odor.
Great quantities are also brought from
British India. .Mauritius, and til,
Indian archipelago.
The milky juice, which plays now SC
important part among tho earth's pro-
ductions, was first used by those Contra
r. American Indians. + Their caoutchout
was made known to the world as easti,
gum, and was long afterward given thu
name Of rubber from the discovery O
, its usefulness in rubbing out the mark
Of black lead pencils. For the latte
> purpose it began to bo imported init
a Great Britain toward the close of tn,
,,sEtast century, and beng much valued b,
t artists was sold at a high price. Earl,
in 1880 the Spanish conquis tadores il
/ Mexico had learned to make caoutchou,
= into shoes and also used it for waxin.
F. their: canvas cloaks to make them resis
4 watef-somethng as the clothing of tn
y 1medcrn Yullaro is coated. That, NJ
n doubt, was the origin OF the idea of it
is manufacture into waterproof cloth
e which first gave it grcas commercial i'm
u portance. Not until 1920 did its en-
't ployment begin to extend much beyont
the erasing cf pencil marks, though tho
g quantity imported had con lerably in
o Creased.
Had Nothing TO Say.
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